Bang!!
As the sword clashed with the fiery paws, sparks, and small flames flickered to life. The impact was so powerful that Dante's feet slid on the ashy ground, causing him to stumble and crush some of the fiery vegetation that was growing around him.
Dante's face twisted into a rare expression of incredulity as he felt the impact of the attack pushing him backward. He couldn't believe that the wolf had grown so strong since their first encounter, as it had never been able to push him back before.
Despite his injuries, Dante hadn't anticipated such a sudden surge in the wolf's strength, leaving him baffled by the mystery of its power.
Although the battle had been challenging from the outset, Dante was aware that he could have won easily if he had used his Abyssal Power from the start. However, he had made a conscious decision to approach the fight differently to train his newly awakened fire element.
By the time he gained more control over this new power, he had realized that he couldn't attack the wolf's unique fiery constitution. This decision ultimately led to his current physical condition.
Dante shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts, and then burst forth, leaving a small trail of flames behind him. As he moved, he realized that he had developed some degree of immunity to flames, but his control over this power was still faulty.
Despite this, he managed to send his mana to his feet, propelling himself forward with the additional aid of his bulging leg muscles. This gave him an unexpected boost in speed.
Dante skillfully circumvented the wolf leader and arrived in front of two of the wolves, intending to dispose of them quickly, just as he had done with the other three. He hoped to end the battle before the wolf leader could interfere.
Igniting the blade of his katana, he prepared to engage the wolves. However, due to his limited control over his fire element, he had to time the ignition of the blade just before he planned to attack.
Dante's swift horizontal slash left blazing flames with an orange hue in its trail, aimed straight for the necks of the wolves.
However, just as his blade was about to make contact, the flames covering the wolves burned brighter and their bodies suddenly disappeared right before him, leaving him momentarily confused and off-balance. It was as if the wolves had been nothing more than illusions or apparitions.
Now, this is what one would call an anomaly. Dante couldn't shake off the feeling that there was something at play here. The unexpected increase in the wolf leader's strength and the strange disappearance of the lower-level wolves due to an increase in their speed left him baffled.
He scanned the battlefield with his eyes, trying to make sense of what was happening, and that was when he discovered the two wolves that had suddenly appeared right next to the leader.
It was then that he realized that the wolves weren't just relying on their physical abilities to fight; there was something else at play here.
Dante quickly assessed the situation, noting that the flames of the wolves that had appeared next to the leader were burning much less brightly than before, and their panting breaths indicated that there was a cost to the surge in their power.
As he pondered, the two other wolves suddenly pounced on him. Ready for their attack, he braced himself as they lunged at him from either side, leaving a trail of searing heat.
He surged forward towards the wolf on his right, as a black smoky aura began to swirl around his blade, signaling his invocation of the Abyssal Power.
With all his might, he swung his katana, aiming for the wolf's neck. Taking down one of them quickly would give him the upper hand in the fight, lessening his burden and enabling him to assess the situation more effectively.
He desired to train, but he was not foolish enough to be unaware of what was necessary and what was not.
Thus, any reservations he had about utilizing the Abyssal Power were swiftly extinguished, for he understood that this was the most effective method to secure victory in the fight and unleash the full potential of his training.
Furthermore, he was not keen on suffering the consequences of Elrid's punishment should he fail.
Just as the wolf was about to tap into its mysterious power to enhance its speed, the swirling dark aura engulfed more than half of its raging mana, leaving nothing in its wake as the blade made contact. The dark aura displayed its dominance over the fiery mana, overpowering it completely and devouring the body of the wolf entirely.
Without pulling any stops, Dante reversed his direction as he headed towards his left. Toward the now cowering wolf that seemed to be pale with fright as its orange-hued flames gained visible trails of white.
The sight of its companion being devoured by that ominous energy even after receiving help scared it to death.
The wolf soon realized the error of its ways in following the youngest and brightest wolf leader in their much larger pack, but it was too late. The same fate that befell its comrade soon occurred to it, though the experience was relatively peaceful.
Rather than being desecrated by the swirling black aura, it felt a connection to its origin as a flaming sword descended upon its neck, merging with it. The end came swiftly, without the wolf even realizing it.
As he coughed up blood, Dante hardened his gaze as he locked his eyes on the remaining three wolves. He had noticed that whenever the black aura appeared, a semblance of fear seemed to overtake the beasts of this dimension
Dante pushed any thoughts of the weight of being a holder of the Abyssal Power in this dimension to the back of his mind, suppressed any concerns about the after-effects of continuous use of Altered Psyche, and lunged towards the wolf without any intention of circumventing the wolf leader.
He recognized that attempting to do so would be futile unless he uncovered what gave the wolves a boost in speed.
As he arrived in front of the wolves, Dante resorted to using his fire element, but he wasn't able to generate any skills at the moment.
All he could do was rely on the ''Ignition'' spell since his level of mastery wasn't yet sufficient to repeatedly use the ''Flaming Arrow'' spell without a definite skill.
As the wolves saw Dante using the element they were so accustomed to, any traces of wariness in their eyes vanished and they all lunged toward him without hesitation.
However, Dante was ready for their attack and managed to dodge the first claw swipe, which was obviously from the leader since he had arrived first. As the fiery claw struck the ashy ground, a powerful shockwave rippled through the ground.
As the shockwave rippled through the ground, it provided a momentary pause in the battle. Dante took advantage of this and appeared before the wolf on the right side of the leader, leaving a blazing trail in his wake.
Dante summoned one of his signature moves, ''Fiery Eclipse.'' The illusion of a dragon in descent, wreathed in flames, appeared around his katana. However, this time it was much more vivid, due to the infusion of his fiery mana into the blade of his katana executing the sword form.
The blade landed squarely on the seemingly intangible body of the wolf, slicing through its now paper-like fiery defense. Blood, bits of organs, and wolf viscera sprayed everywhere, staining the ashy floor.
Dante's quick reflexes and reaction time, aided by his premonition, allowed him to gain an advantage over the wolf. His Oppressive Control had also been instrumental in the fight, allowing him to strain his leg muscles to their limits.
With this battle, Dante had fully explored the currently available options of using his three Unique Meta Traits.
With this move, it finally dawned on the wolf that maybe this seemingly ordinary but handsome-looking - not that it cared about his looks - human trash might be able to take it down.
The notion of a mere human overpowering the youngest and most brilliant sub-alpha of the wolf pack was unacceptable to the wolf that had led its life in brilliance. Filled with desperation, the wolf leader released a howl and summoned a mysterious creature that should not have been present.
Despite Dante's keen perception, the creature had managed to elude his awareness. Emerging from a fiery bush located behind the wolf leader, it materialized just after the howl was released.
As Dante seized the opportunity to defeat the other wolf before the howl, little did he know that his troubles were far from over. To his surprise, a lovable little wolf emerged from the burning bush, right behind the very wolf responsible for most of his severe wounds.
Whether Dante emerged victorious or not, he was about to experience an excruciating amount of pain.
As the plot thickened, a new character made an appearance and took on the role of the main character. Unlike the arrogant wolf that Dante had battled, this character refused to seek assistance from a weaker opponent.
The proud wolf understood that doing so would only invite Dante's scorn, which would deal a serious blow to his pride.
Dante caught a glimpse of fiery eyes in the little wolf, resembling the sun, and gleaned little information as he stared into them. Before the wolf leader could seek assistance from the charming little wolf, it was heavily wounded by the tiny paws of the little wolf.
Dante saw an opportunity and, with his blade coated in Abyssal Power, he charged forward and ended the wolf leader's life. This was not how he had anticipated the fight to end, but he welcomed surprises nonetheless.
He had no reservations about defeating a weakened opponent, at least not while a stronger adversary had emerged. With that sudden move, Dante found himself dangerously close to the adorable little wolf.
Ding!!
As the sound of confirmation that he had triumphed over the wolf leader reverberated in his mind, he refused to let the distraction of the exp he had earned derail him.
He remained razor-focused, cognizant that even the slightest motion could spell his demise if the little wolf pounced. The mere contemplation of the agonizing pain he would suffer and the impending punishment from Elrid was sufficient to fortify his determination to accomplish his objective.
All of a sudden, the unforeseen occurred. A charming little male voice echoed in his mind, asking, ''Excuse me, sir, would you be my master?''
He wore an expression of disbelief on his face just as his vision began to blur, as he collapsed onto the ashy and charred earth, lifeless.